Earl's Stuff: The Julian Alps

Lake Ravinh is not as commercial as Bled. There is no significant town at the edge of the lake, but there is a narrow bridge. There were lots of people looking over the edge of the bridge, though, so we went over and looked. As we approached the bridge I looked down and there were hundreds of these fish. They look like trout, and they were not very large - more like what we used to call "planters".

The signs say there are several kinds of trout, including the large lake trout, salmon, catfish, and pike in the lake. From the bridge we saw the larger fish.

Again, there were hundreds of them in the clear water, all across the bridge, which spans the place where the lake flows out into the Ravinh Sava River. I've never seen anything like it before, but my guess is that the fish wait for food to be swept out of the lake. Easy pickings will draw them.

The morning was cloudy with periods of rain, sometimes heavy, but as the day warmed up it cleared off and we began to see the Alps.

You can rent boats here, but we chose to take the cable car to a nearby mountain peak for a better view of the mountains.

This is looking back down at Lake Ravinj. The bridge is at the cluster of buildings at the top-right corner of the lake.

Here is the mountains soaring over the lake. The highest peak is Triglev (three peaks) which is the highest point in Slovenia. It is 2864 meters (about 9,400 feet) high but keep in mind the coast is only 30 miles away. Here is a telephoto shot:

Not bad for a cellphone camera, yes? At the right, just above the clouds is a little white square. It is a hikers hut where people who want to climb Triglev spend the night. It is said to be about 6 hours to the peak and back from the hut. Our past mission president, wife, and friends climbed it a couple of years ago, got caught when rain clouds moved in, and felt it was miraculous they all made it back alive.

At the top of the cable car ride, there are hiking trails and things to do and see.

There is a legend of a goat/ibex/chamois with golden horns and magical healing powers. The story is quite complex, so you should google "goldhorn" to get it.

But, the view is what the ride up there is all about, except during skiing season. There was a reminder of the former communist status of this country.

Back on the valley floor we checked into our next hotel (remember, we were scouting locations, as well as activities, for the conference), and enjoyed the flowers and beauty of the area.

This was our hotel. Our room was under the slope of the roof and it is the one with an open skylight. The photo might look like the mountains are off in the distance, but I walked to the road just beyond the house beyond the hotel and was at the edge of that sheer mountain-side. It is maybe 50 yards away.

Looking the opposite way, the highest point on that mountain is the cable-car house.